This invention relates to a fishing reel, and, more particularly, to a fishing reel having a spool rotatably supported by a double bearing assembly to a spindle journaled between a pair of spaced apart housings. A crank handle forcibly rotates the spool by rotating the spindle which is coupled to the spool by a torque transmission. Thus, rotation of the crank handle winds the fishing line onto the spool. When a sufficient pulling force is applied to the line (as when a fish is hooked), the torque transmission allows the spool to slip and temporarily free itself from a positive mechanical coupling with the crank handle thereby permitting the rotation of the spool in a direction opposite to that which occurs when the handle is rotated to wind the line. The torque transmission is also adapted to allow the spool to become freely rotatable by being mechanically disconnected from the crank handle so that casting can be effected.
The prior art torque transmission includes a friction plate mounted at the outer lateral side of one of the spool flanges and an associated drag plate mounted at one end of the spindle on the inward side of one of the housings to face the friction plate. The drag plate is not axially movable but rotates integrally with the spindle. With this construction the spindle is axially moved to shift the spool and consequently the friction plate into contact with the drag plate. As a result, the driving force created by turning the handle is transmitted to the spool through the master gear fixed to the handle, the pinion, spindle, drag plate and friction plate. If a sufficient resistance is encountered in winding up the line than can be handled by the coupling between the drag and friction plate (as when a fish is on the line), the friction plate slides relative to the drag plate thereby idling the handle and the spool is reversely rotated. As noted, this construction also allows the spindle and thus the spool to be axially moved to separate the friction plate from the drag plate, so that the spool may freely rotate by being mechanically disconnected from the handle.
As is readily apparent, the optimum operation of the torque transmission occurs when the friction and drag plates are brought into surface to surface contact with one another, i.e., each plate is in a plane parallel to that of the other. However, the mounting of the drag plate to one of the reel housings creates problems in that the drag plate may not always be perfectly aligned with respect to the spool carried friction plate. Alignment errors can arise in the support mechanism which couples the drag plate to one of the housings and these errors can be further compounded by alignment errors caused when the two housings are assembled. Because of these alignment errors the friction plate will not uniformly contact the entire surface area of drag plate and the slantwise contacting plates will cause the fishing line to be drawn out under non-uniform resistance, i.e., unsmoothly. In addition, the friction and drag plates will become partially and unevenly worn.
Another problem associated with the above described apparatus is that the spindle is insertably supported in the drag plate and is axially moved with respect thereto within a very small supporting length. With this construction, the spindle can be easily twisted during movement causing a relatively slow and unreliable engagement of the dragging operation.
The present invention has been designed to solve the foregoing problems. Accordingly, one object of the invention is the provision of a fishing reel capable of continuously and smoothly drawing out the fishing line from the spool. Another object of the invention is the prevention of uneven wearing of the friction and drag plates which comprise the torque transmission of a fishing reel. Yet a third object of the invention is the provision of a mechanism for quickly and reliably engaging the dragging operation.
The fishing reel constructed in accordance with the teachings of the invention, has the spool supported to a stationary spindle such that the spool is axially movable as well as rotatable with respect to the spindle. The spool contains a trunk having flanges on its opposite ends. The friction plate is mounted on one of the flanges and is normal to the axis of the spindle. The trunk of the spool extends lengthwise over a pair of bearing means disposed along the length of the spindle. The bearing means support the spool to the spindle while permitting the above described rotatable and axial movement of the spool. The drag plate is fixed to the spindle and properly positioned normal to the axis of the spindle so that the spool may be axially moved to allow the friction plate to contact the drag plate. Because the drag plate is fixed to the spindle and the friction plate moves with the spool, the contact between the two plates is always uniform over the entire surface area of the friction plate. Hence the dragging operation is always reliably and smoothly effected and the friction and drag plates are prevented from being partially worn. Moreover, the spindle no longer axially moves relative to the drag plate, thereby eliminating any possibility of rough engagement of the two.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become more apparent upon a reading of the following detailed description of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.